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A snippet from one of the stories in T. C. Boyle's AFTER THE PLAGUE captures the essence of the entire book: "In the morning, the dryness in the back of his throat told him he'd drunk too much the night before --- that and a fuzziness between his ears, as if his head were a radio caught between stations --- and he took two of the Tylenol-codeine tabs to ease his transition into the day." The stories in this collection are boozy and woozy and fuzzy around the edges, their transition from good to great being aided by Boyle's signature skillful word play and character development.
As the 16 stories within the collection unfold, what becomes evident is that Boyle is interested in a variety of issues and likes to explore them with blackened humor and witty repartee. He is one of the few writers who can make date rape funny. Date rape, of course, isn't funny. But Boyle can shift your thinking, make you smile, throw you a curve that you just have to swing at.
In the title story, the apocalypse has come and only a few are left to fend for themselves or join together. It's funny.
Not all the stories make you chuckle (or guffaw, as the case can sometimes be). "The Love of My Life" deals with first love and its consequences. "Rust" is about an older couple coming to grips with the end of their lives. "The Underground Gardens," a superb story, is a tale about an Italian immigrant in the 1920s trying to woo his love.
Although several stories try a bit too hard to make statements and to "make you think" --- "The Black and White Sisters" and "Going Down" for instance --- on the whole, AFTER THE PLAGUE is a fresh book with fresh ideas written by one of America's best short story writers.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Shipley
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